New life in Kenya : The Earth Rises

Nov. 15.17

The earth rises again

“Lord of wondrous patience, the earth has risen again, emerging from a darkness in a way it has never quite been before; whirling to a fresh time, an unused space; alive with trembling possibilities, and I with it! Such staggering grace.” (Ted Loder, Guerillas of Grace)

Why do we say ‘sunset’ and ‘sunrise’ when the sun is stationary? Ted Loder imagines a new day as the earth rising. And why not? It is, after all, the earth that moves (rotates) around the sun. Perhaps the phraseology isn’t worth a debate. The miracle is, as Ted captures in his prayer, every 24 hours we have ‘fresh time, an unused space’ and ‘trembling possibilities’.

Sitting quietly in my living room with my first cup of tea, I glimpse the evidence of the fresh time before me. The earth has tilted just enough for me to see the sun as I contemplate Loder’s prayer. Choices lay bare before me. How will I use the ‘unused space’ of the day? Would it make any difference? Would the challenges paralyze or motivate the ‘trembling possibilities’ that are mine?

One of the tasks that sometimes least excite me in an administrative role is reading reports. Four times a year I read through ten reports from each of the 26 Divisions/Districts. Sometimes, I confess, it’s a little mundane and I would rather be out of my office connecting with people, hearing stories, or planning strategies with a team. But the reports do paint pictures. Like the Women’s group who moved ‘out of their box’ because not many people were coming to their program. Instead of despairing, they go out into the community to join another group - the WORTH program. Here they mingle with women from various situations who've gathered for some table banking and education opportunities. The women joined the others just to connect, chat, and pray together. A new possibility lay bare.

In another area, ladies are washing the house of an elderly woman in the community just because there was a need. Good use of their fresh time that day. Then I learn how some Community Care members assist in constructing a new dwelling for a family who lost their home to a fire. I wondered if it was related to the news we heard a couple months ago. A man had his boda-boda (motorcycle) allegedly stolen. An escalated response to the crime ended in 26 houses being burned. Could this have been one of them?

Last weekend Morris and I found ourselves in Turkana. Our second visit to the northern region where weather conditions can be extreme, often creating an inhospitable environment. During our February trip, the sweltering heat and lack of rain had caused intense drought wreaking havoc for people and livestock. This month, extensive flooding, happening about once every five years, destroyed several homes with about 200 families displaced. The heavy rains also damaged roads. The churches were vacant on Sunday because transport was too difficult. We saw some of the affects as we drove around the town. During our stay, we traveled from the region’s main city, Lodwar, to the rural town of Kalokol to visit one of the corp. The seventy kilometer trip took us two hours. No traffic delays – we passed about a dozen vehicles on the way – but the Land Rover meandered slowly due to the conditions of the terrain, making it easier (and a little fun) to do some off-roading. This road is always quite rough but worsened now with parts of it washed away in sections.

Reaching the corps, we could hear singing and see dancing inside the building. The Salvationists (many children) welcomed us warmly and we were happy to share some greetings with them. Before having lunch at the quarters, we drove to the outskirts of the town to see Lake Turkana, the world's largest desert lake (about 250 km long) that reaches into Ethiopia. The shoreline was very muddy and without rubber boots to wade through all the puddles, we were deterred from reaching the edge of the lake. We were fascinated by several boat builders near the lake, taking pride in their hand crafted vessels and mending their nets, indicating the fishing business still held possibilities. We spoke of another seaside where fishermen were mending nets. The Sea of Galilee, not unlike this lake, was the place Jesus envisioned ‘trembling possibilities’ of another kind for those who would follow Him and become fishers of men. While we reminisced, an eager little boy approached us with a handful of very small fish but was quickly told by a local that he wasn’t allowed to keep them. He was sad.

We returned to the corps to share some time with a few of the members. They shared their concerns about the current reality and desired future for the corps. We know there must be ownership at the local level as well as a wider partnership to fill the gaps. There are no easy answers. The trembling possibilities in some of these situations are unpredictable. What are their choices? What are ours? Perhaps each time the earth tilts them and us a new day, we can merge from the darkness together and make the best use of our fresh time and unused space.

Back in Lodwar on Sunday, about 200 Salvationists throughout the district gather for worship. Some had traveled as much as 7 hours over over the rough road to be together with the THQ visitors. Outside the hall when the service was over, a few women robed in their traditional dress and neck decorations posed for a photo with us. I'm not sure what a new day holds for them, but I pray God gives them new courage and the hope of trembling possibilities.

Until the earth rises tomorrow ...